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Generosity
“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”
― John Bunyan
Abraham Lincoln said, ““I care not for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.”
Generosity is seen in action.
This morning I want to give you a paradox.
This statement contains two ideas that fight against each other.
People who freely give deserve support.
Notice what I am not saying.
I am not saying that people who are generous enough to give should expect pay.
At that moment, the giving is not truly free.
Nor am I saying that the support needs to be money.
The fact is that when people freely give, that is what Jesus wants them to do.
However, the ones who receive the gifts should honor the givers.
Matthew 10:8 and 10 are key texts.
8 … You received without paying; give without pay….
10 … for the laborer deserves his food.
Ministry is not for sale.
We are to be generous to those who minister to us.
Before we go further, lets look at the background of these sayings.
First, Jesus is sending out the twelve disciples.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Second, he is limiting their ministry.
They are to avoid the Gentiles and Samaritans and go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
We note that this is a one-time instruction.
At the end of Matthew, he tells the disciples to go into all the world.
In Acts, Peter comes down to a Samaritan village when they had put their faith in Jesus Christ.
If this was meant to be a universal command, that never would have happened.
One of the ways of determining whether something is cultural or universal is to see whether the teaching is repeated everywhere or whether there are times something is taught and other times something is taught different.
For example, is it a shame for a man to have long hair?
If so, then why was Samson’s God-given strength associated with long hair?
The answer is that we have instructions in two different cultures.
When we look at the background, we find that long hair on a man in Corinth identified him as a male prostitute.
Now we see why it would be such a shame.
Here we have a limited ministry for this time and occasion.
We find in John 4 that Jesus and the disciples went through Samaria.
So on this trip they were not to co-mingle with Gentiles or enter the cities of Samaria.
They were to focus on the lost sheep of Israel.
This ministry is not only limited in the fact that they are to focus on Jewish people, the ministry is also clearly an evangelist ministry.
They are to preach the kingdom of heaven and go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Third, they are to both preach and demonstrate the power of God by helping people.
8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons.
You received without paying; give without pay.
Fourth, as the twelve go out on this limited ministry, they are to travel light.
9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts,
10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.
11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart.
Fifth, they are to minister where they are welcomed.
12 As you enter the house, greet it.
13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.
15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
Within this are the two sentences that speak of God-given generosity.
First, freely give what you have been given.
You received without paying; give without pay.
Look at what they can do!
They will heal the sick without twelve years of medical training.
They will raise the dead without scientific training.
They will cast out demons without any idea of what they are really doing.
Everything that they are going to do is the result of God’s generosity to them.
They have earned none of it.
What God has freely given them; they are to give to others without making other people pay.
What has God given you?
Forgiveness?
Be generous with your forgiveness.
Forgive as you have been forgiven.
Grace?
Be generous with your grace to others.
Love?
Love has you have been loved.
By this shall all men know that we are his disciples if we love have one for another.
Second, we are to be generous and support those who minister to us.
The disciples entered a village.
They had no money, no food, no extra clothing, and no place to sleep.
They came and presented the kingdom of heaven, healed the sick, raised the dead and cast out demons.
How did the people respond?
The response was an attitude of gratitude.
They were to open their homes, provide meals and welcome the disciples openly.
It’s Jesus who is sending them out.
It’s Jesus who is expecting that those who support him will also support his disciples.
There are people who do that.
There are people here who open their homes to missionaries and visiting pastors.
They come to minister.
God blesses both those who minister freely and those who open their hearts and homes.
It’s a two way street.
The disciples were to freely give what they had been given.
The people were to freely give as an expression of thanksgiving and support.
If the disciples demanded payment, they showed a lack of gratitude for what God had given them as well as placing a burden on people who needed most to hear the message.
What if I was to go to a gathering of your friends who do not know Christ and tell them, “I will preach the kingdom of God to you if you give me one hundred dollars!”
They would laugh at me and keep their money in their pockets.
What would the result of that be?
They wouldn’t hear of the great love of Jesus for them.
They wouldn’t know that Jesus died on the cross for them, was buried and rose again to give them new life.
Instead of heaven, hell would be their destination.
Why?
Because of a measly hundred dollars!
The gospel is to be given freely.
Those who support the gospel should be willing to help those who are freely giving the gospel.
It’s a team effort.
Jesus is not as much concerned about the money as he is the support.
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